Yesterday, Bloxham Sixth Formers and staff welcomed guests from local schools and university advisors for an afternoon of talks on further education and careers
On Monday, Bloxham Sixth Formers and staff welcomed guests from local schools and university advisors for an afternoon of talks on further education and careers.’
Yesterday’s UCAS and Further Education Convention ’14 kicked off with a range of presentations from current undergrads, giving our students their own views on life at university; top tips for preparing for interviews and how to shape your portfolio to really sell your personal skills. It was brilliant for our students to have the chance to listen to these students, who were in their shoes not too long ago, and have the opportunity to learn from their personal experiences.’
Our Sixth Formers were then divided into two groups to continue working on their UCAS Personal Statements. As many people know, a personal statement can be the difference between an offer and a rejection from a University, so it was fantastic to see our students really embracing the help they were offered from our professional advisors and knuckling down to the task of writing this essential component of their applications.
In the evening, we welcomed keynote speaker Martin Birchall, the MD at High Fliers Research Limited (the company behind every graduate’s best friend, “The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers”) who gave a fascinating insight into current career trends amongst new graduates, advising students on how individual decisions can have a huge baring on employability once graduated.
Next, there was a panel of guest speakers who all offered various angles on university admissions. Dominic Davis, Head of Undergraduate Marketing and Recruitment at the City University London, gave a talk on “The Importance of Choosing the Right University.”
Next, Sarah Fullwood, who works as a Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer at Aston University, really got down to the gritty details of how to sell your strengths to a university admissions team with her talk, “What Admission Tutors are Looking For…”
Adele Ruston, employed as Widening Participation and Undergraduate Recruitment Officer at the University of Bristol, blew apart various myths amongst Sixth Formers with her talk on “UCAS: Some Common Misconceptions.”
Paddy Patterson, of Oxford Apprenticeships from the Oxfordshire County Council’s Economy and Skills Team, gave an eye-opening talk on the wide range of opportunities that are open to students who don’t wish to go to university with “Apprenticeship Schemes: How to Apply”
Finally, Stefan Wathan, Chief Executive of Year Out Group, opened students eyes to the possibility of having a gap in their studies – be it a couple of months between finishing A Levels and starting university, or as a stand-alone year out. He also underlined to the students the importance of good planning and making the trip as effective in terms of the work the students could carry out whilst away, but also in terms of the impact on their CVs, with his speech “Planning Ahead: Gap Year Experiences”
To round off the evening, there was a quick fire question and answer session between parents and students and our presenters and then everyone enjoyed some refreshments.
We would like to thank all our guests who attended the evening, as well as each of our presenters for their extremely informative talks. Most of all, a big thank you to Dr Evans for organising such a successful event – should you wish to contact her with any questions, please click here.